TCSA Initiatives
- Guided Reading Sets have been purchased for each school for use with small group/guided sessions.
- Developmental Reading Assessment Kits have been purchased for each school as a tool for determining reading level for students K-8. Tracking folders are provided for each student to record reading level.
- Whole School Write: This strategy has been used to determine level of writing ability. A TCSA Whole School Write handbook is available from the TCSA K-12 Program and Curriculum Coordinator.
- It is suggested to increase Language Arts time to two hours and 15 minutes in elementary classrooms. This can be done through integration with other subject areas.
- Teachers will use the Ideal Day format as a guideline for Language Arts planning. In all cases possible, primary class sizes will be 18 or less.
- Nelson readers 1-3 and Gage Cornerstones have been adapted from Grades 3-6 for our Board and the majority of students should be using either the Nelson Reading series or Cornerstones Reading series during their daily instructional time in addition to other forms of reading study.
- DEAR (Drop Everything and Read) program occurs daily in every grade 1-6 classroom across the Board.
- The writing process is to be emphasized in Grades 1-6 with writing occuring 1-6 classroom across the Board.
- Jack Hartman CDs: A variety of Jack Hartman CDs have been distributed to the schools and are available for use in elementary classess. This resource is great for teaching phonemic awareness, letter sounds (in conjunction with a letter sound chart), multiplication, etc. Lyrics are reprinted in the handbood and have been distributed to the schools.
- Math Manipulatives: Regular use of resources (including overhead base 10 blocks, calculators, fraction tiles, numbers, etc.) is recommended.
- Thematic units: Often teachers use thematic units to teach Science, Health, Social Studies and Fine Arts. Thematic units can integrate subject areas, maximizing the amount of time available to explore areas of study.